Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan tourism forum aimed at deepening bilateral cooperation in the field of tourism and intensifying the flow of tourism between the two countries was held at the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Azerbaijan.
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan Alim Bayel, President of the Turkish Culture and Heritage Foundation Aktoty Raimkulova, representatives of "Kazakh Tourism LLC", Azerbaijan State Tourism Agency and Tourism Bureau, AirAstana and FlyArystan airlines, Associations of Tourist Guides of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Almaty and Shymkent cities were present at the event. , management of tourism offices of Mangistau region, large tourism companies of the two countries, journalists, well-known Azerbaijani bloggers, more than 70 people participated.
In his welcoming speech, Ambassador Alim Bayel noted that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and allies. Bilateral cooperation is developing in all areas, including tourism. The diplomat emphasized the growing interest of Kazakhs in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis in Kazakhstan. A. Bayel noted that according to the statistics of 2023, every second tourist from Central Asia who visited Azerbaijan last year was from Kazakhstan. Last year, 58,000 Kazakh tourists came to Azerbaijan. 39,000 Kazakh tourists have already visited Azerbaijan in January-June 2024. In general, according to the dynamics of tourism flow to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan ranked third after China and India.During the meeting, the representatives of the tourism industry of Kazakhstan told the participants of the forum about the famous tourist routes of our country, demonstrated the unique and wonderful nature of Kazakhstan, and also shared detailed information about the 5th World Nomad Games to be held in Astana on September 8-14.
A lottery organized by AirAstana and FlyArystan airlines was also played within the event. Free air tickets from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan were presented to the winners.
In addition, a B2B meeting session of the heads of tourism agencies of the two countries was held within the framework of the forum, and a memorandum on cooperation between the Associations of Tourist Guides of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan was signed. They visited the cities of Almaty, Shymkent and Turkestan, as well as the Almaty region. During the forum, they shared their impressions of Kazakhstan. Forum participants expressed confidence that such events will increase the flow of tourists to Kazakhstan.